Jena Observatory

The Astrophysical Institute and University Observatory Jena ( AIU Jena) is an observatory of the Friedrich -Schiller- University of Jena Jena midst.

On behalf of Duke Karl August of Saxe- Weimar -Eisenach, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was an astronomical observatory in the city of Jena set. The first director was Karl Dietrich von Münchow ( 1778-1836 ). The first building of the observatory was an attachment to the home of Friedrich Schiller. 1889 a new building was erected on a neighboring property.

Among the directors of the observatory were known scientists such as Ernst Abbe ( 1877-1900 ), Heinrich Vogt ( 1929-1933 ) and Heinrich Friedrich Siedentopf (1933 to 1945).

Since 1962, the Astrophysical Institute has a branch in which about 10 km west of the city village Großschwabhausen. Located on the plateau in the forest monitoring station provides at least tolerable conditions for optical astronomy, which are no longer present in the city due to the light pollution for Central European conditions. The largest telescope is a reflecting telescope with a primary mirror diameter of 90 cm, which can be converted into a Schmidt camera with an aperture of 60 cm. Thereto can be connected to the CCD cameras, fiber optic spectrometer and photon counting cameras. Since 2006, a nightly observation is operated again.